Correctional officers taken hostage at Arkansas prison released with only minor injuries

UPDATE:

Both correctional officers who were taken hostage by inmates at the Maximum Security Unit in Tucker have been released, authorities said.

A spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Correction said in a statement that the officers suffered "only minor injuries" consisting of lacerations and bruising.

"Following a use of force, both inmates were taken in to custody," the statement said. "The inmates and staff involved are being transported to area hospitals for medical treatment."

The extent of the injuries suffered by the inmates was not immediately known.

Friday's hostage-taking was the latest in a series of violent altercations at Arkansas prisons in recent months that have sent prisoners and guards to the hospital and resulted in the death of one inmate.

In October, officials released a three-part plan to correct security problems at prisons where violent outbursts occurred.

Read Saturday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

EARLIER:

Inmates have taken two correctional officers hostage at the Maximum Security Unit in Tucker, according to a spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Correction.

In a written statement, spokesman Solomon Graves said two inmates had taken two correctional officers hostage at the prison earlier Friday evening. He said emergency response teams from the department were on scene and the Arkansas State Police has been notified of the situation.

In a call to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newsroom, a person who identified himself as an inmate at the prison said inmates had broken out of their cells and taken two officers hostage. The call came before prison officials released the statement announcing what had happened.

"They alive for right now," the man on the phone said, referring to the officers. The person said the officers were in handcuffs.

The call came into the newsroom around 6:15 p.m.

Read Saturday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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